Eleanor Reviews

**** DVD release Budding comedian Kumail Nanjiani meets psychology student Emily at a bar after one of his sets, and a tentative relationship begins. Differences in their cultures and expectations are brought into perspective, however, when Emily contracts a serious infection and is placed into a medically-induced coma. OK, readers - you're probably as surprised as I am to see a rom-com review being posted on my blog, but the truth is, I really, really like The Big Sick . Prompted to seek it out, I decided to sit down and watch it on one of those weird non-existent days between Christmas and New Year, and swiftly fell under its charm. Not only did I laugh consistently throughout, I actually cried more than once, and actually felt strangely optimistic about love by the end (I know - what on earth is wrong with me!?).  I guess the main reason for this emotional response is that The Big Sick is actually far more than a rom-com - it's a witty, insightful

Hi, all Seems as everyone is creating their reviews of the year, I thought I'd get in on the action too and give a little run down of 2017, via films released in UK cinemas. 5 Top-Rated Films, in no particular order: 'A Monster Calls' 'Moonlight' 'Dunkirk' 'Blade Runner 2049' 'Mudbound' Honourable Mentions: 'Logan' 'Manchester by the Sea' Least Favourite Films: 'Baby Driver' 'Silence' Most Traumatic Experience: 'Okja' - I'm still scarred! Best Performances: Florence Pugh - 'Lady Macbeth' Will Poulter  - 'Detroit' A big 'thank you' to all my readers - wishing you all a very Happy New Year, and I shall see you in 2018.

**** Having tracked down Luke Skywalker, Rey begins to learn more about her newfound abilities, but the Jedi Master is troubled by her powers, reminiscent of a former pupil, Kylo Ren. Meanwhile, stranded in space, the Resistance find themselves pitted against the First Order. With fuel running out and hope fading, Finn sets out on a desperate mission... After the ubiquitous success of A Force Awakens and the status of The Empire Strikes Back as one of the best sequels of all time, it was somewhat inevitable that The Last Jedi should be met with reviews of a more mixed nature than its predecessor. Picking up almost directly from where the first part of the new trilogy left off, we are soon made aware that there are two very different narratives fighting for screen time: that of Rey and her training with Luke; and that of the Resistance. However, supported by a witty, at times laugh-out-loud funny, script, a host of returning characters (some more expected than others!), a powerf

**** Netflix release Out on a farm in the middle of Mississippi, two families live alongside one another: the McAllans and the Jacksons. Whilst the McAllans own the land, the Jacksons are forced to work the unforgiving landscape. But when a young man from each family returns home from World War II, the lives on the farm are changed forever.   It seems a shame to me that big, bombastic, out-of-this-world movies with A-list casts and grand special effects should receive the coverage and release they do when intimate, important tales such as Dee Rees' latest go by largely unobserved. For, whilst the entertainment value of a blockbuster cannot be denied, the effective, sensitive storytelling of a tale as important as Mudbound deserves to be witnessed by an audience just as big. Sneaking out amongst the Original series in the middle of November, Mudbound makes for a tough yet tender cinematic treat for all who press 'play'.   Focusing on two families living aside

***** On a routine mission to retire an old model of replicant, LAPD Agent K uncovers a secret with the potential to overthrow the fragmented remnants of society. Determined to solve the mystery, he sets out to find Rick Deckard, a former Blade Runner who hasn't been seen in thirty years...   Call me a cynic, but when I first heard that Blade Runner was to receive a sequel, I groaned aloud - are standalone films not allowed anymore, I wondered? I was still more perturbed upon hearing that Ryan Gosling being cast (not a huge fan, I'll admit), and decided there and then that I wouldn't be going to see it. Having been introduced to the original as 'an absolute classic' by my parents, I felt that it didn't need a follow-up story... But then I found myself reading a wealth of positive reviews, and even the afore-mentioned parental units confirmed that they had indeed enjoyed the second foray into the dystopian future. So, I went.   And I am pleased to r

**** July, 1967. As racial riots in the city of Detroit reach breaking point, the police and National Guard surround the Algiers Motel, believing a sniper to be situated there. At the end of the night, three black men were dead and nine others had been brutally assaulted.   When it comes to a film such as Detroit, the phrase 'I enjoyed it' seems hideously misjudged - how it is possible to 'enjoy' a film wherein three innocent black men are murdered in cold blood? Instead of the word 'enjoy' then, I suggest 'admire' - and I definitely do admire Kathryn Bigelow's study into what happened that fatal night in 1967. Interjecting dramatized scenes with newsreel footage and black and white images from the time itself, Bigelow instantly fixes the viewer in 1967 and the context of the period. Instead of leaping straight into the drama of the Algiers Hotel itself, Bigelow takes the time to introduce us to the tension of the moment, showing a police r

*** Desperate to break free of the crime syndicate he has unwittingly become a part of, getaway driver Baby agrees to one last job. Favoured by his boss, Doc, as an integral part of the team, Baby's skills behind the wheel are linked to his ability to choose the right playlist for the right moment - but will his catalogue of tunes be able to save him this time? OK, unpopular opinion coming up - Baby Driver isn't all it's cracked up to be. In fact, it's probably my movie disappointment of the year. Loud and brash, this is a film that's all about the surface and not a great deal else. Not that I mind a bit of frivolous, throw-away fun every now and again - I just want it done properly. The gimmick of the movie - that Baby (Ansel Elgort) plays music whilst he performs getaway driving - grows old after the opening montage of a bank robbery, and it never reinvents itself. Sure, the soundtrack is pretty good, but it stops relating to what we see on screen

      ****   When an international company comes to reclaim her best friend from their mountainous home in South Korea, Mija will stop at nothing to win back Okja, a 'super pig'. Setting out on a desperate quest to save her beloved companion, Mija finds herself caught up in the corrupt world of capitalism and consumerism, where animal sacrifice is all a part of the game.   So, I actually saw 'Okja' about three weeks ago, but I was so traumatised by the experience that I couldn't bring myself to write about it until now. A warning to you: do not be fooled by the light-hearted, quirky appearance of the trailer - this is NOT a feel good film about a girl's loving relationship with an overgrown pig. It is in fact much, much darker than that, showcasing themes of corruption, capitalism, obsession and animal abuse. It also contains one of the most distressing rape scenes shown on film. Oh yes, it starts happily enough, with a cuddly creature and her hum

***** In May 1940, the advancing German forces trapped hundreds of thousands of Allied troops on the shores of a small coastal town, Dunkirk. Unprotected from the air and at the mercy of U-boats lurking in the channel, the soldiers looked out to sea and longed for home.   The moment I found out that Christopher Nolan (in my opinion, one of the best directors working today) was going to create a war epic, I was hooked. I longed for the cast list, looked out for the trailers, and delighted at Hans Zimmer's collaboration. And, after such a wait, it is with great relief that I can say Dunkirk is everything I wanted it to be, and more. Not only is it nail-bitingly tense, immersive in every sense of the word and moving, it is also incredibly beautiful. If a war film can ever be referred to as such. Expertly shot by Hoyte van Hoytema, who manages to capture the expanse of the sea as well as the claustrophobia of the boats, and punctuated by Zimmer's unrelenting, sweeping sc

*** After losing her job as a waitress in the village café, Lou Clarke desperately seeks a new position, but when she meets the recently-paralised Will Traynor, she has little idea that her role as a carer will become so complicated.   When you're a little hungover and feeling sorry for yourself, there are a few things a girl needs: a tub of ice cream and/or chocolate; a comfy duvet with which to moan into; and a light-hearted chic flick to have a bit of a cry over. Only, Me Before You isn't a light-hearted chic flick in the slightest, apparently having the most heart-breaking ending possible for this genre. And, in my fragile, tequila-induced state, I ended up having more than a little sob. Damn you, Sam Claflin and your perfect features.   That's not to say that Me Before You is a good film, however. In fact, for the majority it is your basic boy-meets-girl movie, only that the boy is paralysed and the girl has a truly eccentric wardrobe. Emilia Clarke (play

**** Convinced that the mysterious Rachel who suddenly appears in his late cousin's letters was the reason for his demise, orphaned Philip plots his revenge. However, his plans go awry upon meeting the woman herself, and he finds himself falling under her spell... Whilst watching My Cousin Rachel it occurred to me that we haven't had a gothic story that doesn't descend into ridiculousness ( Crimson Peak, we're looking at you!) in a while. And it was somehow so refreshing to enjoy a story that relied upon the audience's interpretation of what was really happening than having it spelt out for you, much like the lately-released Lady Macbeth. The tale itself is a claustrophobic one, with only four characters given any notable screen time, whilst the majority of the proceedings are taken up with Sam Claflin's obsessive Philip and Rachel Weisz's beguiling Rachel. Set in the sweeping, rugged landscape of the Cornish coast and largely set within capacious, ca

    ****   When the tranquillity of her existence on an island paradise is shattered by the arrival of a pilot, Diana chooses to leave her home to stop the war the man tells her of. Travelling from London to France, Diana fights alongside men for the first time, discovering more about mankind and her own destiny than she could ever have realised...   Hallelujah! It is 2017 and we finally have a superhero film with a female character as the lead, which has gone on to smash the box office and garner good reviews from critics and audiences alike. At last! Missing out on the 'female only' screenings, I watched this film in a packed out cinema, and had a brilliant time. The first thing to say is that Gal Gadot is perfect as Diana - she is a vulnerable as she is strong, as confused as she is stubborn, and as innocent as she is knowledgeable. Positioned at the forefront of almost every scene, Gadot commands the screen, with her male support cast stepping aside duly. The

  ***/**** (3.5 stars)   The interweaving story of two men who are suffering their own hardships - Khaled who has fled Syria to Finland in search of a better life, and divorced gambler Wilkstrom.   It is quite possible that Finnish humour may be even more bizarre than British. At least, that is what I have come to conclude after watching  The Other Side of Hope . Interweaving moments of genuine tragedy with frankly quite odd instances, Aki Kaurismaki's latest film combines the timely story of Khaled's (Sherwan Haji) flight from war and struggle for acceptance with Wilkstrom's (Sakari Kuosmanen) failing marriage and equally unfulfilling shirt business. It is certainly a strange set up, and it becomes even more unusual when you realise that these two characters aren't actually going to meet until very late in the film.   I was trying to work out what part of the film I found most peculiar, but couldn't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it was the deliv

      ***/**** (3.5 stars)   Once the star of Mindhorn (an eponymous TV series about a detective who could see truth), Richard Thorncroft's career has hit an all-time low. Then a mysterious killer emerges, asking to speak to Mindhorn, and Mindhorn alone. Returning to the character who defined him, Richard returns to the Isle of Man to solve the murder...   It occurred to me whilst I was watching Mindhorn how truly strange and unexplainable British comedy is. Gently taking the mickey out of everything and everyone, Julian Barratt's welcome return to our screens is possibly the epitome of 'British humour', with gags about everything from old age to the fickleness of TV. At the heart of the film is Barratt himself, playing Richard Thorncroft as a self-centred fool still trying to cling on to his sex symbol status, despite the balding and slimming underwear. Barratt pitches the performance well, making Thorncroft an instantly likeable character, but it is whe

**** Sold into a loveless marriage with a middle-aged man, young bride Katherine soon finds herself alone in her new home. Upon meeting one of her husband's new groomsmen, she embarks upon a dangerous affair that has truly murderous consequences.   'Are you cold?' This is the first question our young bride, Katherine (Florence Pugh) is asked, and it can be interpreted in two ways, much like the rest of the film. It sounds as though the maid, Anna (unawares of the trauma she is about to experience) is asking whether her mistress is chilly, but, after seeing the rest of the film, could it be foreshadowing of Katherine's cold emotional behaviour? It is certainly a tricky one to decipher, and yet so is the film itself. With a completely stripped-down soundtrack - there are very few instances where music is used at all - the focus of the film remains wholly upon the actors. Without the guidance of music to tell us what to think or feel, we are left alone to interpre

*** A former secretary joins the government's team of propaganda film makers in creating a morale-boosting movie about a heroic Dunkirk rescue mission.   Being a self-confessed sucker for war films, it was inevitable that I would find myself taking in a screening of Their Finest - a tale of a female screenwriter taking on a heroic story in the midst of bombed out London. It is with regret, therefore, that this addition to the World War archive that I found this film a little disappointing. With a promising central trio at the helm (Bill Nighy steals the show as the cantankerous ageing actor Hilliard), the film begins with promise. Peppering scenes of the Blitz with moments of humour, the film acts as a showcase of Great British talent, with walk-on, walk-off roles for Richard E. Grant, Eddie Marsan and Jeremy Irons providing intrigue for the first act. However, the script soon flounders...   It seems strange that a film about screenwriting should suffer from such a po

**** When an arms deal goes wrong in an abandoned warehouse, gang allegiances and friendships are tested in a shoot out for survival.   How often does the gunfight in the finale of a film end up being the best bit? Well, pretty often actually. So director Ben Wheatley (and long-time writing partner Amy Jump) decided to create a film where the gun fight was the story - a stripped back 'shoot 'em up' with a host of untrustworthy characters at the centre. And it works! For the best part of ninety minutes, a strange set of individuals take aim at one another in what is a gory, funny, engaging movie about an arms deal that goes terribly wrong.   The premise and tensions are quickly established (from Sharlto Copley's Vernon bringing the wrong guns to Sam Riley's Stevo and Jack Reynor's Harry violent hatred of one another), and then the first bullet is fired. All hell quickly breaks loose as it becomes apparent that each participant has bought their own w

      ****   Old, tired and battle weary, Logan is in hiding as a taxi driver in Mexico, desperately trying to save enough money for a boat he's seen in a magazine. However, his plans go awry with the appearance of Laura, a strange child with a dangerous secret...   The BBFC cites 'strong bloody violence' and 'strong language' as it's reasoning behind Logan 's 15 certificate, and after only five minutes, the film certainly lives up to these pointers. And, gosh, isn't it all the more refreshing for it! Logan, or Wolverine, has always been a man of violence with a potty mouth, but, stemmed by the 12A rating we've never really got to see such a savage side of him. That is, until now. Mentally broken and physically ruined, the Logan of this film is a far cry from the fresh-faced hunk of the original X-Men . It therefore works in the character's favour that director James Mangold has chosen to take this story down such a dark and bloody

***** Divided into three sections, Moonlight follows the life of Chiron, from boy to teenager and then to grown man. It seems somewhat cliché now, after all the rave reviews and the Best Picture Oscar win, for me to award Moonlight a 5-star rating. And yet, to give it anything other would be a travesty, because Barry Jenkin's film is nothing short of a masterpiece. Showcasing three different sections in the life of Chiron, a young black man living in rough neighbourhood, the film weaves a profoundly moving narrative about life, love and masculinity. Featuring three pitch-perfect performances by the lead actors, we are guided from Chiron's lonely childhood, to his ostracised teenage years and then into his uneasy adulthood. As a character, Chiron actually says very little, meaning that his thoughts and feelings must be portrayed through his face, eyes and actions - something that each actor, especially teenage Ashton Sanders, does exceptionally well. There are brillian

**** DVD release/Available to stream When a rebellious teen and his foster uncle disappear into the New Zealand wilderness, a countrywide search begins to track down this mismatched pair.   A film that had been on my list ever since I missed it in the cinemas, I finally got round to watching Hunt for the Wilderpeople whilst bedridden and intoxicated on a plethora of cold-curing medication. And it certainly appealed to my frazzled state. An undeniably quirky film, Taika Waititi's latest is a heartfelt and often funny coming of age tale, based around a recently adopted obese child and his gruff foster 'uncle'. Essentially a buddy movie about two individuals shunned by society, this charming tale (fronted by Sam Neill and Julian Dennison) is awash with moments of humour as well as sadness. Disappearing into the Bush after an early tragedy, the film segments their adventures into chapters, some which work, others which fall a little flat. Showcasing the beauty of Ne

    **** Desperate to beat Russia in the race to the moon, NASA look to the previously unrecognised talents of the African-American women in their employ, namely Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson and brilliant mathematician Katherine G. Johnson.   Maybe it's do to with my morbid choice in film, or possibly because every movie is somewhat downbeat at the moment, but I can't remember the last time I came out of a cinema with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. That is, not until I saw Hidden Figures . With the odds stacked against them, this is the story of three exceptional women (played by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae respectively) who take on a discriminatory world and win. Packed with fist-pumping moments, tear-inducing scenes and a script that walks the difficult line between portraying racism and providing jolts of humour, director Theodore Melfi has created an entertaining and educational film that all age groups can enjoy. With thre

  ***/**** (3.5 stars)    In 1950s Virginia, a married interracial couple face prejudice and discrimination at every turn. When they decide to challenge the rulings that have been made against them, they have no idea that their case will end up in the US Supreme Court. To say that Loving is an understated film would be something of, well, an understatement. This is the opposite of a Hollywood drama, filled with dramatic declarations and quotable lines that will stretch the eons of cinematic history. It is without explosions, shootouts, car chases and steamy sex scenes. Instead, it is the quiet, sophisticated story of two people who love each other and want to raise their family in their home state. From the very opening, where our two lovers (Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton) sit together on the veranda, you know this will be a low key affair - more about what is unsaid than what is spoken. At the very heart of the film are Negga and Edgerton - they feature together in alm

    ****   An aspiring actress and a down-on-his-luck jazz musician enjoy an all-singing, all-dancing romance in Los Angeles.     Originally, I wasn't going to see La La Land. Yep, you read that right - I wasn't planning on seeing one of the most talked-about films of the past few months. Why? Well, I just don't like musicals. With the exception of Moulin Rouge! I just don't find them to be all that enjoyable. Anyway, go along I did. From the very first scene, I had a big grin on my face. The opening montage is a real treat, with hundreds of people pirouetting on the tops of cars to a lively tune. And, I have to say, that smile remained with me through the rest of the film, right up until I started sobbing at the end (be warned, this is not the feel good movie everyone says it is!). Bathed in a beautifully immersive colour palette and gifted with two charming central stars, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling,  La La Land's simple story of life and love is ri

    ****    Returning to his hometown after his brother falls ill, sullen janitor Lee must face up to the demons of his past whilst rebuilding the broken relationship with his estranged nephew. After watching Manchester by the Sea , I tried to work out at what point you find yourself so immersed within a film that all you can think about is on the screen. For me, I think it was when depressed central character, Lee (an outstanding Casey Affleck) sat arguing with his boss without raising his voice. Immediately, so many questions sprang to mind, and I had to know more. This was a feeling that continued throughout the film, and even after the ending - what would the characters go on to do next? It is testament to the film (and Kenneth Logeran's poignant script) that we don't become bored or frustrated watching these two bereaved men carrying out their everyday lives - we are instead intrigued. Filled with trauma and tragedy, Logeran's brilliant screenplay also

   ***   Upon hearing that their teacher has apostatised, two young Jesuit priests travel to Japan to find him at a time when Christians were being persecuted within the country. There, they will find their faith will be tested to the utmost in the face of cruelty and torture.   Honestly, I can't remember the last time I went to the cinema only to find that, half way through, I was more aware of the aching in my bum and my stiff legs than what was happening on screen. Unfortunately, this was the case with Silence , Martin Scorsese's incredibly long foray into religious fervour. Following the desperate journey of two Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver, both sporting wonderfully thick heads of Disney prince hair), this biblically lengthy movie combines the shocking treatment of Japanese Christians with the ridiculous, including a truly irritating character whose reappearances on screen left more than a few members of my audience groaning. Filled with Gar